Minister won’t back compulsion
Teaching the New Zealand Wars requires commitment and courage from schools, but the impact on students can be profound.
At Hamilton Junior High School, students learn about the New Zealand Wars across the curriculum.
Acting principal Rebecca Hodgson said the school is committed to giving students a thorough understanding of this defining event.
That commitment starts at the top – with the school’s senior leaders – and has been embraced by all staff.
Currently, the Education Ministry gives schools the option to teach the New Zealand Wars.
Hodgson said schools may avoid teaching the New Zealand Wars due to trepidation.
‘‘Maybe it’s because people are uncomfortable with our history, but it is what it is,’’ she said. ‘‘I would welcome the teaching of the New Zealand Wars being made compulsory, but I don’t believe that goes far enough. I think te reo Māori needs to be part and parcel of what we do.’’
Education Minister Chris Hipkins wants schools to teach New Zealand history and said some schools could do more to educate students about the New Zealand Wars.
However, he doesn’t favour making the wars a compulsory part of the curriculum.
‘‘At the moment, history is a core part of the New Zealand curriculum. What schools choose to teach within that is over to schools because schools have the ability to design their content based on local knowledge and local needs,’’ Hipkins said.
‘‘I think the New Zealand Wars are an important part of
New Zealand’s history as a country, but again, I don’t want us to become too prescriptive about which parts of the New Zealand Wars, for example, should be standard at which schools.’’
In 2016, the National Government refused to make the New Zealand Wars a compulsory part of the national curriculum
Hamilton Junior High School teacher Jodie Mason said learning about the New Zealand Wars empowers students and helps them understand their identity.
She’s previously taught the subject to children as young as Year 3.
‘‘When you teach the New Zealand Wars, students come up with their own thoughts. They’ll say, this helped me know who I am. I’m not lost,’’ Mason said. Debate over the New Zealand Wars has gained prominence following an attack on the Captain Hamilton statue in August.
Taitimu Maipi took to the statue with red paint and a hammer, accusing Hamilton of being a murderer. The incident highlighted a lack of context around public artworks commemorating the country’s colonial figures. Hipkins said it was important to address racial tensions, but didn’t believe schools should be blamed for every societal ill.
‘‘We need to open up about the parts of our history that aren’t something we should be proud of, and we should discuss this in a very open way, but I think putting all the weight on schools to do that is a little unfair.’’ Mason said her students used the Captain Hamilton incident as a learning opportunity.
‘‘I had students come to class and want to know more about Captain Hamilton and research him.’’
The Education Ministry’s Ma¯ ori history guidelines provide a framework to help schools teach Ma¯ ori and New Zealand history. The guidelines advocate schools engage with local iwi and hapu¯ to incorporate local history into the classroom.